ai4bharat/Pralekha huggingface dataset:
Ministry of Defence
Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh approves policy on archiving, declassification & compilation of war/operations histories
War/operations histories to be compiled within five years
Records to ordinarily be declassified within 25 years
Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh has approved the policy on archiving, declassification and compilation/publication of war/operations histories by the Ministry of Defence. The policy envisages that each organisation under the Ministry of Defence such as Services, Integrated Defence Staff, Assam Rifles and Indian Coast Guard, will transfer the records, including war diaries, letters of proceedings & operational record books, etc., to the History Division of Ministry of Defence  for proper upkeep, archival and writing the histories.
The responsibility for declassification of records rests with the respective organisations as specified in the Public Record Act 1993 and Public Record Rules 1997, as amended from time to time. According to the policy, records should ordinarily be declassified in 25 years. Records older than 25 years should be appraised by archival experts and transferred to the National Archives of India once the war/operations histories have been compiled.
The History Division will be responsible for coordination with various departments while compiling, seeking approval and publishing of war/operations histories. The policy mandates constitution of a committee headed by Joint Secretary, MoD and comprising of representatives of the Services, MEA, MHA and other organisations and prominent military historians , for compilation of war/ operations histories.
The policy also set clear timelines with regard to compilation and publication of war/operations histories. The above-mentioned Committee should be formed within two years of completion of war/operations. Thereafter, collection of records and compilation should be completed in three years and disseminated to all concerned.
The requirement of having war histories written with clear cut policy on declassification of war records was recommended by Kargil Review Committee headed by K Subrahmanyam as well as N N Vohra Committee in order to analyse lessons learnt and prevent future mistakes. Post Kargil War, GoM recommendations on national security also mentioned the desirability of authoritative war history.
Timely publication of war histories would give people accurate account of the events, provide authentic material for academic research and counter the unfounded rumours.
Prime Minister's Office
PM congratulates Srikanth Kidambi for winning Bronze Medal in CWG 2022
This is his fourth CGW Medal thus showing his skill and consistency: PM
The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has congratulated Srikanth Kidambi for winning Bronze Medal at Birmingham CWG 2022. PM also expressed his happiness over the Srikanth Kidambi's fourth CWG Medal.
The Prime Minister tweeted;
"One of the stalwarts of Indian Badminton, @srikidambi wins a Bronze medal in his CWG individual match. This is his fourth CWG medal thus showing his skill and consistency. Congratulations to him. May he keep inspiring budding athletes and make India even prouder. #Cheer4India"
Ministry of Steel
NMDC celebrates Birth Anniversary of Bharat Ratna Babasaheb Dr. B.R. Ambedkar
The NMDC paid its tribute to the Father of Indian Constitution and celebrated 132 nd birth anniversary of Bharat Ratna, Babasaheb Dr. B.R. Ambedkar today at NMDC Head Office in Hyderabad. Shri Amitava Mukherjee, CMD  along with Shri Dilip Kumar Mohanty, Director , Shri Vishwanath Suresh, Director  and Shri B.Vishwanath, CVO led the employees in offering their respect to one of the Founding Fathers of the Republic of India .
Speaking on the occasion, Shri Amitava Mukherjee said that Babasaheb gave us a constitution which can live, breathe and evolve. One of the most forward-looking Constitutions, it upholds Universal Human Rights and protects every citizen with the promise of equality. We, at NMDC, derive inspiration from the values on which our founding fathers built the nation , said Shri Mukherjee .
The event was organized by the mining major in collaboration with NMDC HO SC/ST Association. Shri B. Hanumantha Rao  and Shri B. Pavan Kumar  from the NMDC SC/ST Employees Welfare Association along with Executive Members and employees were present. The function commenced with the garlanding of the portrait of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, followed by a prayer sung in his memory.
Citizen Orchestra presented a cultural programme on this occasion remembering Baba Saheb’s contribution in uplifting the society. As a homage to the social reformer, NMDC SC/ST Employee Welfare Association distributed school bags to children.
Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions
Re-Employmment of Retired Government Officers
There is no provision of cooling off period of one year for re-employment of retired Government officials.
As per rules, if, a pensioner who, immediately before his retirement was a Group ‘A’ officer , wishes to accept any commercial employment before the expiry of one year from the date of his retirement, he shall obtain the previous sanction of the Government to such acceptance by submitting an application in the prescribed form.The rules also provide that if such a pensioner takes up any commercial employment at any time before the expiry of one year from the date of his retirement without prior permission of the Government, it shall be competent for the Government to declare that he shall not be entitled to the whole or such part of the pension and for such period as may be specified.
This information was provided by the Union Minister of State  Development of North-Eastern Region , MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, DrJitendra Singh in written reply to a question in Lok Sabha today.
Ministry of Defence
Financial Planning Conclave
Pune, 20 September 2023
Headquarters Southern Command conducted a Synergy Conclave on Financial Planning on 20 Sep 2023. First of its kind, the Conclave offered a single platform for the Officers of Army and Defence Accounts Departments PCSDA, CSDA and IFAs of the Command to cohesively progress towards common organisational interests. Largest amongst the Commands covering 41% of the National geographical area Financial Management throws typical challenges and thus alignment to the range of rigorous procurement policies and procedures holds the key to success.
Speaking on the occasion Lt Gen AK Singh, AVSM, YSM, SM, VSM, GOC-in-C Southern Command commended the DAD team headed by Dr RS Chavan, PCDA for their dedication and hard work, working behind the scenes, ensuring that the defence forces have the resources they need to protect the nation. He highlighted the paramount importance of the advice of DAD officer's on financial probity and accountability and the synergised work with the Budget Holders of the Southern Command directly contributing to enhancing the operational effectiveness of the Command
The Army Commander brought out that embracing technology can streamline processes, reduce errors, and provide real-time insights into financial operations and listed the numerous initiatives of financial reforms undertaken by Southern Command including the effective utilization of in-house developed Procurement Software, PrAS, on Army's own Secure Network
The Army Commander stated that upholding high ethical standards is non-negotiable and we must act in a manner by putting the Nation's interests ahead of all. He emphasised that National security concerns are paramount and hence while dealing with micro issues, macro issues to be kept in mind and intent should be paramount.
He urged the audience to remain vigilant, adaptable, and committed to excellence and asked all to harmonise efforts by sharing best practices. He expressed confidence that all the stakeholders will continue to serve the organisation with honour and distinction.PIB Pune | M.Iyengar/D.Rane
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Ministry of Defence
Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh & South Korea’s Minister of National Defence Mr Jeong Kyeongdoo discuss ways to enhance bilateral security cooperation
Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh held a bilateral meeting with Minister of National Defence of Republic of Korea  Mr Jeong Kyeongdoo here today. During the meeting, both Ministers held discussions on enhancing the bilateral security cooperation and collaboration in defence industry and research &development.
A roadmap for Defence Industries Cooperation between India and RoK was also exchanged after the meeting. The roadmap lists a number of possible areas of cooperation, including research and development.It also promotes investment in Defence Industrial Corridors in Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.
The two Ministers also exchanged views on regional security situation.
Raksha Mantri thanked Mr Jeong Kyeongdoofor his participation in DefExpo 2020,being held in Uttar Pradesh capital Lucknow between February 5-9, 2020as well as participation of RoK defence industries in the event.
Ministry of Science & Technology
Newly identified tectonically active zone in Himalayas could alter earthquake study & predictions
The suture zone of the Himalayas or the Indus Suture Zone  in the Ladakh region where Indian and Asian Plates are joined has been found to be tectonically active, as against current understanding that it is a locked zone.
This could have major implications in terms of earthquake study, prediction, understanding the seismic structure of the mountain chains well as its evolution.
A group of Scientists from Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology , Dehradun, an autonomous institute under the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, have found through observations and detailed mapping of geological features that the suture zone of Himalaya that was conventionally thought to be locked is tectonically active. They carried out the mapping of the remote regions of Ladakh that forms the most hinterland part of the Himalaya. The study was published recently in the journal ‘Technophysics’.
The geologists observed that sedimentary beds are tilted and thrust broken, the rivers are associated with uplifted terraces, and the bedrock shows brittle deformation that occurred at much shallower depths. These deformed geological features were then dated in the laboratory at Dehradun using a technique called Optically Stimulated Luminescence   and data of seismicity and denudation rate reviewed. The combination of field and lab data suggested the region of the Indus Suture Zone  has been neo-tectonically active since the last 78000 -- 58000 years and a recent earthquake in 2010 of low magnitude 4.0 near the village of Upshi that occurred due to a thrust rupture.
Himalaya were known to be made up of north dipping thrusts like the Main Central Thrust , the Main Boundary Thrust , and the Main Frontal Thrust . As per the established models, all of these thrusts except MFT are locked, and overall deformation in Himalaya is being accommodated only along with the MFT. The new findings, which suggest a more remote fault at the suture zone being neo-tectonically active, could call for a serious relook into the existing evolutionary models using new techniques and a larger geological database.
Ministry of Law and Justice
Extension of Time for Submission of Suggestions on Uniform Civil Code
In view of the overwhelming response from the public on the subject of Uniform Civil Code and numerous requests received from various quarters regarding the extension of time for submitting their comments, the Law Commission has decided to grant an extension of two weeks for the submission of views and suggestions by the concerned stakeholders.
The Law Commission values the input of all stakeholders and aims to create an inclusive environment that encourages active engagement. We encourage all interested parties to utilize this extended timeframe to contribute their valuable ideas and expertise.
Accordingly, any interested individual, institution or organisation may furnish their comments on the issue of Uniform Civil Code till the 28th of July, 2023 through “click here” button or by email at membersecretary-lci[at]gov[dot]in. The concerned stakeholders are also at liberty to make their submissions in the form of consultation/discussion/working papers on any of the issues pertaining to the Uniform Civil Code addressed to the “Member Secretary, Law Commission of India, 4th Floor, Lok Nayak Bhawan, Khan Market, New Delhi – 110 003.”
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
COVID-19 UPDATE
48.93 Cr. Vaccine Doses administered so far under Nationwide Vaccination Drive
3,09,74,748 total recoveries across the country so far
Recovery Rate currently at 97.37%
41,726 patients recovered during last 24 hours
India reports 42,982 new cases in last 24 hours
India's Active caseload currently 4,11,076
Active cases constitute 1.29% of total cases
Weekly Positivity Rate remains below 5%, currently at 2.37%
Daily positivity rate at 2.58%; less than 3% for last 10 days
Testing capacity substantially ramped up – 47.48 cr tests total conducted
Competition Commission of India
CCI approves acquisition of certain shareholding in Ambit Private Limited by Daiwa International Holdings Inc.
The Competition Commission of India  approves the acquisition of certain shareholding in Ambit Private Limited by Daiwa International Holdings Inc.
The proposed combination relates to acquisition of certain shareholding in Ambit Private Limited by Daiwa International Holdings Inc. through a combination of primary subscription of shares and secondary share purchases from existing shareholders.
Acquirer
Daiwa International Holdings Inc. is an intermediary management holding company, incorporated in Japan. It was established for the purpose of holding stock or share in a domestic or foreign company and controlling and managing its commercial activities.
Target
Ambit Private Limited is a private company incorporated in India and provides a range of financial services. It is registered with Securities and Exchange Board of India as a merchant banker and its various subsidiaries are engaged in providing lending, stock broking, depository participant, research analyst, portfolio management, mutual fund distribution and fund management services.
Detailed order of the CCI will follow.
Ministry of Coal
Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd.  Records Highest 102 Rakes Coal Despatch in Single Day
Mahanadi Coalfields Limited , a Miniratna Company under the Ministry of Coal, today recorded the highest ever coal despatch by rail-mode, with 102 rakes chugging from Ib Valley and Talcher Coalfields to various power stations in a single day.
Mr PK Sinha, Chairman-cum-Managing Director, MCL has complimented the teams involved in achieving the record despatch through environment-friendly rail-mode. “It is an impressive performance by the Team MCL, with equally great coordination and support from Indian Railways,” said Mr Sinha, congratulating all the team leaders and their teams for their work with great sense of responsibility to meet energy requirements of the Nation.
Recording the highest ever 61 rakes despatched from Talcher coalfields, MCL, on August 30, 2021, supplied 5.3 lakh tonne coal to consumers, including more than four lakh tonne coal to the various power stations.
Besides, 16 rakes were despatched through MGR-mode  and more than 1.15 lakh tonne via trucks to various consumers.
MCL is the second largest coal producing company in India, having mining operations spread over in Jharsuguda, Sundergarh and Angul districts of Odisha.
Carrying forward the vision of Sustainable Mining, MCL is implementing nine First Mile Connectivity projects to provide pollution-free state-of-the-art rake loading system at a total expenditure of Rs 3,600 crore. This will also generate a despatch capacity of 126 million tonne per year, expected to be achieved by the year 2024.
MCL was the first coal company to introduce environment-friendly Surface Mining technology in 1999. The biggest fleet of 66 Surface Miners is contributing 95 per cent to the total coal production of the company.
NITI Aayog
North East Sustainable Development Goals Conclave 2020 in Assam
NITI Aayog is organising “Sustainable Development Goals  Conclave 2020: Partnerships, Cooperation and Development of North Eastern States” in Guwahati, in association with the North Eastern Council, Government of Assam, Tata Trusts, United Nations Development Programme  and Research and Information System for Developing Countries .
The three-day event from 24th to 26th February 2020, will take place in Assam Administrative Staff College, Guwahati and will see representations from the highest offices of all the State Governments of the North East, Central Ministries, academia, civil society and international development organizations. The inaugural session will be presided over by Dr Rajiv Kumar, Vice Chairman, NITI Aayog, Dr. Jitendra Singh, Hon’ble Minister of State , Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region , Chief Ministers of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura, Ms. Renata Lok-Dessallien, UN Resident Coordinator, India and Shri Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog. This inaugural session on the first day would be followed by technical sessions on the 25th and 26th. The valedictory address would be delivered by Ms. Shoko Noda, Resident Representative, UNDP India.
The technical sessions would include sessions pertaining to SDG localisation in the northeast, economic prosperity and sustainable livelihoods, climate adaptive agriculture, health and nutrition, education, skill development and entrepreneurship, connectivity and infrastructure development & inequality and exclusion. Each of the sessions, chaired by a renowned domain specialist, are expected to take stock of progress and discuss and deliberate on the way forward for the region in the aforesaid areas.
NITI Aayog has the mandate of overseeing the adoption and monitoring of SDGs at the national and sub-national level. Progress in the northeast region is crucial in this decade of action for the country to achieve the SDGs by 2030 and this conclave is part of NITI Aayog’s continuous efforts towards fostering partnerships at the sub-national level. In terms of SDG localisation, the states in the region have taken major strides in integrating the Agenda 2030 framework in their developmental planning and vision documents.
Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment
Divya Kala Shakti Cultural Event Held At Mumbai
The First-Ever Western Regional Colorful Cultural Event “Divya Kala Shakti” Held at Mumbai
The first-ever western regional colorful cultural event “Divya Kala Shakti: Witnessing the Abilities in Disabilities” was organized, by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment , Govt. of India in Mumbai on 27th April, 2022 at Nehru Centre Auditorium, Worli. The event was inaugurated by Chief Guest Shri. Bhagat Singh Koshyari, the Hon’ble Governor of Maharashtra at 6.15pm in the presence of Guest of Honour Ms. Anjali Bhawra IAS, Secretary, and Shri Rajesh Kumar Yadav, IAS, Joint Secretary of Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Govt. of India at 6 pm at the Nehru Centre Auditorium, in Worli, Mumbai-18. The inaugural function that began with the Indian National Anthem in Indian Sign Language was followed by a continuous demonstration of potentials of 86 children who are differently abled, in a colourful display of stage through fifteen unique events in the form of dance, music, puppetry, acrobatics etc. in classical, folk and modern style.
During the inaugural function, Shri. Bhagat Singh Koshyari, the Hon’ble Governor of Maharashtra, reiterated the significance of powerful potentials of persons with disabilities. He said that there is a need to promote the ‘Divya Shakthi’ and self confidence among persons with disabilities. He appreciated the efforts of parents, teachers and institutional support to make the ‘Divya Shakthi’ among persons with disabilities on of the powerful to tool to develop our community and our country. Through a video recorded message Dr Virendra Kumar, Hon’ble Cabinet Minister, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Govt. of India, spoke about the importance of power of the persons with disabilities, which can be a great resource for the growth of our nation and the need to provide them with more opportunieis. Speaking at the inaugural function Guest of Honour Ms. Anjali Bhawra IAS, Secretary, spoke about ‘Divya Kala Shakti’ a cultural event of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment , Govt. of India, which was organized in various parts of the country since 2019, at the national level and in other regions of the country developing confidence among the persons with disabilities and appreciated the efforts of their hard work of parents and teachers.
The children and youth with different disabilities from the states in the western region such as Maharashtra, Goa, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Daman & Diu participated in this event, which is organized by Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities , Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India and being hosted by the Ali Yavar Jung National Institute for Speech and Hearing Disabilities , Mumbai All the participants was awarded a certificate for recognition for their performance at the Divya Kala Shakti’ organized in the western regional level.
Ministry of Earth Sciences
M/o Earth Sciences, GoI signs agreement with M/s ABS Marine Services Pvt Ltd, Chennai for running, manning, maintenance, catering, and housekeeping of all six research ships
The Ministry of Earth Sciences has signed an agreement with M/s ABS Marine Services Pvt Ltd, Chennai for running, manning, maintenance , catering, and housekeeping of all the six research ships on the 31st of May 2022.
The contract was signed in the presence of Dr M Ravichandran, Secretary, Ministry of Earth Sciences and other senior officials from the Ministry and ABS Marine Services Pvt Ltd. The contract includes the maintenance of six research ships viz. Sagar Nidhi, Sagar Manjusha, Sagar Anveshika, and Sagar Tara are managed by the National Institute of Ocean Technology , Chennai; Sagar Kanya which is managed by National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research , Goa and Sagar Sampada managed by the Centre for Marine Living Resources and Ecology , Kochi.
These research ships are the backbone for technology demonstration and oceanic research and observations in the country and have contributed significantly in enhancing the knowledge about our oceans and ocean-based resources.The Ministry of Earth Sciences is extending research ships as a national facility to other research institutes and organizations like ISRO, PRL, NGRI, Anna University, etc.
The company would be the single point of contact for all ship-related modalities, unlike the present agreements which MoES has with multiple agencies. This is in line with the Government’s ease of doing business initiatives and involvement of the private sector in Government contracts. The contract was signed for an amount of approximately Rupees 142 crores over a 03-year period. One significant feature of this contract is the substantial year-wise saving achieved by the Ministry in the operation and maintenance charges of the Ministry of Earth Sciences research ships and the hi-tech scientific equipment/laboratories on board. It has close coordination with similar service providers and shipping agents around the world which makes it highly impactful in the area ofship utilization and efficient operations.
With the help of the new ship management services, the Ministry aims to save costs while also enhancing the value of the marine fleet through innovative, reliable & cost-effective methods.